Decolonizing Cultural Knowledge: Identity Construction and Cultural Resilience of the Mentawai Indigenous Community from a Critical Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59890/ijels.v4i7.52Keywords:
Dekolonisasi, Pengetahuan Pribumi Mentawai, Arat Sabulungan, Ketahanan Budaya, Humanitas Kritis.Abstract
This study examines epistemic challenges and decolonial strategies within the Mentawai indigenous community in West Sumatra, focusing on the construction of cultural identity and cultural resilience in the face of modern socio-political assimilation. The aim of this research is to examine the hegemony of the Eurocentric paradigm and national homogenization policies that marginalize indigenous Mentawai knowledge. Research Methodology: This qualitative study employs a critical ethnography design combined with critical discourse analysis. The critical ethnography approach positions the researcher not merely as a passive observer, but as an emancipatory partner striving to dismantle asymmetrical power relations in the field. The findings of this study explore how contemporary Mentawai communities actively resist epistemological subalternity. The resurgence of adapted local practices—such as the role of the Sikerei (spiritual leader and healer) and the performance of major cultural rituals—operates not merely as a passive preservation of heritage, but as a deliberate emancipatory strategy. These practices foster a sustainable, inclusive economy and a robust local identity. This article offers a nuanced, non-Western model for the broader discourse of critical humanities, emphasizing that the epistemic decolonization of indigenous cultural knowledge is central to achieving structural, ecological, and cultural justice in postcolonial contexts.
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